1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to fishing line guiding mechanisms, and in particular to a mechanism for guiding fishing line onto the spool in a spinning reel, mounted onto the ends of first and second rotor arms and pivotable between a line-guiding and a line-release position.
2. Description of Related Art
Mechanisms for guiding fishing line onto the spool are installed in spinning reels. The fishing line guiding mechanisms are fitted to the ends of a first and a second rotor arm, where they rotate together with the rotor and are installed to permit pivoting between a line-release position and a line-winding position. A typical fishing line guiding mechanism is provided with: a first and a second bail support member; a stationary shaft, one end of which is fixed to the end of the first bail support member; a stationary shaft cover fixed to the other end of the stationary shaft; a bail, one end of which is attached to the stationary shaft cover; and a line roller.
The other end of the bail is attached to the tip of the second bail support member. The one end of the bail is insert-fastened into the stationary shaft cover, wherein a step is created at the joint between the stationary shaft cover and the bail.
In winding fishing line around the spool of a spinning reel having this sort of fishing line guiding mechanism, the bail is pivoted into the line-winding position and the handle is turned. This guides the fishing line, led by the bail, into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the line roller, via the stationary shaft cover. Then, guided by the line roller, the direction of the fishing line is changed in being wound onto the spool outer periphery.
With a conventional fishing line guiding mechanism, when turning the handle, especially after casting a light lure, sometimes slackened fishing line gets caught on the step in the joint between the stationary shaft cover and the bail, and further, fishing line coiling between the joint and the outer periphery of the first bail support member gives rise to line tangles. When trying to wind on the fishing line, if the fishing line thus gets caught in the two locations (the joint between stationary shaft cover and bail, and the outer periphery of the first support member), tension between these two points increases, more strongly entangling the fishing line until at last reeling-in becomes impossible.
An object of the present invention is in enabling line entanglement in a fishing line guiding mechanism to be rid of easily.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a fishing line guiding mechanism for a spinning reel mounted pivotably between a line-guiding position and a line-release position to ends of a first rotor arm and a second rotor arm and guiding fishing line to a spool includes: a first and a second bail support member mounted pivotably to respective ends of a first rotor arm and a second rotor arm; a stationary shaft, one end of which is fixed to the first bail support member; a stationary shaft cover spaced at an interval from the first bail support member on the other end of the stationary shaft; a line roller supported rotatively on the stationary shaft and provided with a guiding portion around whose circumferential surface the fishing line is guided; and a bail having two ends that are fixed to the second bail support member and at least one of the stationary shaft and the stationary shaft cover, the bail being curved outward in circumferential direction with respect to the spool, and guiding the fishing line over the stationary shaft cover to the line roller. The outer peripheral portion of the first bail support member lies inside a sphere whose radius is a first distance that is where the span between the outer peripheral portion and a predetermined reference point becomes the maximum. The outer peripheral portion moreover is formed into a curved surface such that the distance between it and the reference point becomes, heading outward, gradually shorter than the first distance.
In this fishing line guiding mechanism, a given reference point is determined as the position where an entanglement may occur, a sphere is defined that has a radius of a maximum distance between this reference point and the outer peripheral portion of the first bail support member, and the outer peripheral portion of the first bail support member lies on and within this sphere. Moreover, the outer peripheral portion of the first bail support member is formed into a curved surface such that the distance between the reference point and the outer peripheral portion gradually becomes shorter in an outward orientation that enables fishing line guiding. For example a line tangle might arise at the predetermined reference point and the fishing line get caught on the outer peripheral portion of the first bail support member. Herein, the line-winding operation will shift the position on the first bail support member outer periphery where the fishing line is caught outward, with the reference point as center, finally bringing it off and at the same time getting rid of the line tangle at the reference point. The line tangle is therefore easily gotten rid of.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a fishing line guiding mechanism as in the first aspect, the reference point is located on an inner peripheral portion of the first bail support member. With this configuration, it is possible to form the outer peripheral portion of the first bail support member as an arcuate or smoothly convex shape with the reference point at its center, so that the fishing line does not get caught so easily by the outer peripheral portion of the first bail support member.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in a fishing line guiding mechanism as in the first or second aspect, the reference point is a juncture between the stationary shaft cover and the bail. With this configuration, the reference point is set to the juncture between the stationary shaft cover and the bail where the fishing line tends to become entangled, so that entanglements at this reference point can be easily resolved.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in a fishing line guiding mechanism as in any of the first to third aspects, a lateral portion of the first bail support member lies in a sphere having a radius of a second distance given by the maximum distance between the lateral portion and the reference point, and wherein the lateral portion forms a curved surface such that the distance between the lateral portion and the reference point gradually becomes shorter heading outward than the second distance. With this configuration, the fishing line can be prevented from getting caught at the lateral portion of the first bail support member, in the same manner as at the outer peripheral portion of the first bail support member.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in a fishing line guiding mechanism as in any of the first to fourth aspects, the second distance is shorter than the first distance. With this configuration, if the fishing line can be prevented from getting caught at the outer peripheral portion of the first bail support member, then entanglement can be prevented in a similar manner also at the later portion of the first bail support member, whose maximum distance is shorter.
From the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art.